In the world of computers and the Internet, many different types of devices transmit and receive digital content both internally as well as over wired and wireless communication networks. For instance, a computer processor on a local device may read data from and/or write data to a memory storage location that resides locally on the device. The processor may also read from and/or write to networked storage locations that are located remotely on other devices. That is, many computing devices often interconnect via wired and/or wireless networks for transmitting digital content from one device to another, sometimes over vast distances.
On a local device, a processor may retrieve an instruction from a local memory location, and may subsequently write some data to a different location in the local memory. These processes may occur in response to a user request or other action. For instance, when a user selects an icon on a screen of a computing device, the processor may execute many read and/or write instructions involving interaction with the memory. Each of these actions, however, may involve data traveling along a physical wire to and from the processor. Although it may often seem immediate to the user (as the user's selection is highlighted in seemingly no time), these data transmissions are not instantaneous. For example, some time may pass during the execution of instructions. In general, this passing of time between a request and receipt of an indication that the request has been executed is called latency.
Further, it is often the case that latency may be variable for any given session. For instance, a user may experience variations in latency, even for identical scenarios, during a single time-frame or on-line session. That is, a user may experience changes in latency from one instance to the next. However, this can be rather frustrating and can cause a poor user experience. Unfortunately, latencies of the current systems may be too unpredictable and variable.